Sunday, August 3, 2003
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

1st Reading: Ex 16:2-4, 12-15

In the desert the whole community of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron and said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of Yahweh in Egypt when we sat down to caldrons of meat and ate all the bread we wanted, whereas you have brought us to this desert to let the whole assembly die of starvation!"

Yahweh then said to Moses, "Now I am going to rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to gather what is needed for that day. In this way I will test them to see if they will follow my Teaching or not.

"I have heard the complaints of Israel. Speak to them and say: Between the two evenings you will eat meat, and in the morning you will have bread to your heart's content; then you shall know that I am Yahweh, your God!"

In the evening quails came up and covered the camp. And in the morning, dew had fallen around the camp. When the dew lifted, there was on the surface of the desert a thin crust like hoarfrost. The people of Israel upon seeing it said to one another, "What is it?" for they didn't know what it was. Moses told them, "It is the bread that Yahweh has given you to eat."

2nd Reading: Eph 4:17, 20-24

I say to you, then, and with insistence I advise you in the Lord: do not imitate the pagans who live an aimless kind of life.

But it is not for this that you have followed Christ. For I suppose that you heard of him and received his teaching which is seen in Jesus himself. You must give up your former way of living, the old self, whose deceitful desires bring self-destruction. Renew yourselves spiritually, from inside, and put on the new self, or self according to God, that is created in true righteousness and holiness.

Gospel: Jn 6:24-35 (Listen to MP3 - The Bread of Life)

When crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Master, when did you come here?"

Jesus answere, "Truly, I say to you, you look for me, not because you have seen through the signs, but because you ate bread and were satisfied. Work then, not for persishable food, but for the lasting food which gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give it to you, for h is the one the Father has marked."

Then the Jews asked him, "What shall we do? What are the works that God wants us to do?" And Jesus answered them, "The work God wants is this: that you believe in the One whom God has sent."

They then said, "Show us miraculous signs, that we may see and believe you. What sign do you perform? Our ancestors at manna in the desert; as Scripture says: They were given bread from heaven to eat."

Jesus then said to them, "Truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven. My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. The bread God gives is the One who comes from heaven and gives life to the world." And they said to him, "Give us this bread always."

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall never be hungry, and whoever believes in me shall never be thirsty."

Commentary

Jesus knew why the multitudes have come to him. They came because they had found satisfaction and fulfillment in the message that he preached. They had been filled with "bread that they wanted to eat." Their hunger and thirst had been relieved by the words of Jesus. And now they wanted more. And Jesus was more than willing to oblige. The great thing about Jesus is precisely that. He knows fully well, the longing of the human heart and is always more than willing to give us from the abundance of himself. We have only to ask. There is a great understanding on his part for what we desire most as human beings, and that is food, spiritual nourishment. Signs are good, wonders are helpful, and pointers along the way telling us that we're on the right track, are much appreciated. But these are fleeting and ephemeral; they're there today, but gone tomorrow. The food that Jesus promises, the nourishment that he proposes to give us, is something that lasts forever, something that time neither corrodes nor erases. He further assures us that unlike the bread that the Israelites ate in the desert that went stale and disappeared, his faithfulness to us will last for all eternity. And this is tremendous consolation, comfort, and fullness indeed!

Read also: • Gospel Reflections by Fr. Gerry Pierse, C.Ss.R.
          • Biblical Commentaries fro Diario Biblico

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